Shoutout to the guy who showed me the hatchet trick for carpet seams

I spent like 5 years using a standard seam roller and getting frustrated with lumps in high-traffic areas. Then an old installer from Cleveland showed me to use a small hatchet to tap down the seam tape before rolling it. Sounds crazy but it really sets the glue better and I haven't had a single seam pop since I tried it last June. Anyone else got a weird tool they use for seams?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.nancy1mo agoTop Commenter

Man try a wallpaper seam roller with a metal wheel instead of rubber. The extra weight lets you press harder without needing to beat on it like a hatchet. My pops taught me that one way back and it works for linoleum too. Only downside is you gotta be careful not to gouge the subfloor if you push too hard.

rowan_wells301mo ago

Did anyone else try the wallpaper roller trick and end up with a gouge in their subfloor that looked like a meteor crater? That was me last Tuesday. I swear I was just pressing normally, but my metal wheel decided to take a detour into the plywood. Now I'm back to using a plastic seam roller and muttering apologies to the carpet every time I hit a lump.

ray_williams1mo ago

That metal wheel can really chew up the subfloor if you're not careful.